EPISTEMIC INTERNALISM, CONTENT EXTERNALISM, AND THE SUBJECTIVE/OBJECTIVE JUSTIFICATION DISTINCTION

Two arguments against the compatibility of epistemic internalism and content externalism are considered. Both arguments are shown to fail because they equivocate on the concept of justification involved in their premises. To spell out the involved equivocation, a distinction between subjective and objective justification is introduced, which can also be independently motivated on the basis of a wide range of thought experiments to be found in the mainstream literature on epistemology. The subjective/objective justification distinction is also ideally suited for providing new insights with respect to central issues within epistemology, including the internalism/externalism debate and the new evil demon intuition.